A/N: I'm still alive! I didn't forget about you guys! Sorry, this took a little longer to get out than I had planned. But better late than never!
Disclaimer: After all this time I still do not own Inuyasha or, sadly, Sesshomaru-sama. The Masayoshi family is pretty much all I own, and this little orange pen someone left for me.
Ok, ok, I'll leave you guys alone to read…
Chapter 2: Violet Meets Gold
The 'little' break that Masayoshi had decided to take lasted a bit longer than he had originally planned. And so, three 'little' hours later, they were still in the exact same spot, 'resting.'
"Just a little bit longer," Kiyoko insisted, "We're still aching from being cramped up in that carriage for so long."
"Ten more minutes."
"But Father!"
"No buts Kiyoko." Masayoshi insisted, "Any longer and I'd have to set up a permanent residence here."
"Oh fine." Kiyoko finally relented. "But do we still have to sit next to that?"
Kiyoko pointed to the other side of the road, where Shingo and Mika just happened to be resting. Kiyoko's obvious reference to him only prompted Shingo to begin another teasing session. He got up and began walking towards Kiyoko and Ayaka, smiling all the way.
"Boy are you two lucky. Look who I just happened to find again." Shingo said and held up his re-claimed white mouse.
Mika sighed as her two older sisters began to scream and run around like maniacs once again. She loved her brother very much, but trying to rest with Shingo around was like trying to get a youkai to play fetch.
"Father," Mika said, standing up, "I'm going to go for a short walk."
"What?" Masayoshi asked worriedly, turning away from the commotion, "I don't think that's a good idea Mika. I don't know if this area is safe or not."
"I'll be alright." Mika insisted, "And I won't even go that far away from the group."
"But still, it can be very dangerous to wander off by yourself."
"Feh! I laugh in the face of danger!" Mika joked, and then said, "Seriously Father, I'll even make sure to keep you guys in my sight the whole time. Pleeeease?"
"Alright then." Masayoshi agreed finally, knowing that he had been fighting a loosing battle, "We will be leaving in ten minutes, so please be back before then. And be careful Mika."
"I will Father! Thank you!" Mika said, giving her Father a hug before going into the forest, not knowing how true her Father's previous words really were.
"This was a good idea." Mika said as she sat in a little flower alcove in the forest.
True to her word, Mika hadn't gone far, and her squabbling siblings could still be seen. Thankfully though, the forest blocked out any noise they made, finally giving Mika a little peace and quiet.
"There are so many beautiful flowers here," Mika noted, "I think I'll make a little bouquet for Kiyoko and Ayaka. Hopefully that'll put them in a good mood for the rest of the trip."
So Mika began to pick the flowers, still making sure to remember the time. A few minutes later, she had two very nice looking flower bouquets. She got up and grabbed the flowers, smiling at her accomplishment.
"There. If that doesn't make them happy, then I don't know what wi . . ." Mika began before a scream interrupted her:
"MIKA! RUN!"
Shingo's voice brought Mika's gaze back toward the group. She gasped as she saw many horses carrying men wielding swords, attacking the group and her family.
"MIKA! RUN FOR IT!" Shingo shouted again, and this time Mika saw why.
Four of the attackers had caught sight of her, dismounted, and were making their way to her. Mika hated abandoning her family, but getting herself killed would not help the situation. So she ran, deeper into the forest.
The men quickened their pace as Mika started to run. Several times she felt one of them make a grab for her and miss, prompting her to run faster. However, after being in a carriage all day with no strenuous activity, Mika's legs began to cramp and she started to slow down, giving the men a chance to catch up with her.
One of the men tried grabbing her again, and this time they were successful. Mika stopped as she felt a hand tightening around her arm. She quickly turned around, slapping the man in the face, causing him to loose his grip.
"Well, well boys. We've got ourselves a little firecracker her." He said as the rest of the men surrounded Mika.
Mika saw at once that she was surrounded and outnumbered. She turned back to the man she had hit as he started to speak again.
"Try and be careful with this one. I'd like to teach her a lesson for that personally."
Mika's eyes widened at the meaning in his words. Instead of being afraid, she was enraged at the way these men intended to 'handle' her. And so, she did the only thing a girl in her situation would do; she punched the guy dead in the face.
She quickly turned her aggression onto the other very surprised men, punching another in the face before kneeing another in the stomach and then elbowing the last one in the side. But Mika's triumph was short lived. As she tried to move around one of the disabled men, her foot got caught in a tree root, and she fell to the ground. An instant pain let Mika know that she had hurt her ankle, badly too. Running was definitely out of the question now.
Meanwhile, her captors were getting themselves back together after her little onslaught.
"You bitch!" The leader spat, still holding on to his broken and bleeding nose, "You're gonna pay for that!"
He drew out his sword and raised it over Mika's head. Mika felt tears on her face, and she closed her eyes and waited for the strike. She heard the sword come down, and prepared herself for the blow. A few seconds went by, and Mika was still alive. Had the man missed? Curiosity getting the better of her, Mika opened her eyes and looked up, and found herself staring into the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen.
It was around midday when Inutaisho finally met up with Masayoshi, only to find the whole group being attacked by raiders. Without a second to spare, Inutaisho quickly sprung into action, using his youkai powers to dispose of the attackers. The rest of the raiders retreated quickly after seeing the youkai in action.
After dispatching the raiders, Inutaisho learned from Masayoshi that one of his daughters was still missing. It was reveled by his son that the girl was seen running into the forest, and unfortunately, with several of the raiders in pursuit. Inutaisho wasted no time and went to find her.
After catching a mixture of scents, Inutaisho found the one's of the missing raiders. Their scent was still fresh, meaning that they were not far. After a couple of minutes, Inutaisho came to the edge of a clearing, where he found the raiders and Masayoshi's missing daughters. The four of them had surrounded the girl, and from their stand they looked ready to attack. Inutaisho made himself ready to attack, when all of a sudden the girl jumped forward and punched one of the men hard in the face.
Inutaisho was just as surprised as the men at the girl's action. He was surprised even further when she proceeded to take the other men out the same as she had done with the first. Inutaisho even started to consider the idea of letting the girl 'rescue' herself. This though vanished as he saw her foot get caught in a tree root, causing the girl to fall.
"You bitch!" One of the men shouted, "You're gonna pay for that!"
He drew his sword and raised it over the girl's head. Inutaisho leaped forward and grabbed the man just as he brought his sword down. It took the remaining three raiders mere seconds to react to the youkai's attack, promptly running away in the opposite direction. Inutaisho would let them go, but this man, he would pay the price for attempting to hurt the daughter of his comrade. He raised his claws and prepared to strike…
"Wait! Don't kill him!"
Inutaisho's hand stopped in midair, surprise written on his face. He turned around to face Masayoshi's daughter, and found himself staring into her bright violet eyes.
A/N: So is it getting any better? Let me know. And bug me about getting the next chapter out soon. Believe me I'll need it. =^_^=